Where There Is A Will, There Is A Way
Notes
Transcript
†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Romans 12:1
Steven Hoffer, Elder
Minister: Sons and daughters of the living God, why are you together on this Lord’s Day?
Congregation: By the mercies of God, we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is our spiritual worship.
†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION
†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE
“Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery”
†CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON
based on I Tim. 1:15; I Pet. 2:24
Minister: Let us confess our sins to our Holy God:
Congregation: Eternal God, you do not change. You have revealed yourself to us in your word. You call us to worship in spirit and in truth. We confess that we often worship not your true self, but who we wish you to be. We often ask you to bless what we do, rather than seeking to do what you bless. We seek concessions when we should be seeking guidance. Forgive us, O God.
Forgive us for selfish and half-hearted worship; worship that tries to shape you into what we want, rather than shaping us into what you want us to be. You have drawn near. Help us to meet you here. Give us love and reverence for you, bowing before your unspeakable majesty, and living for you now and ever, in Christ. Amen.
Minister: This saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might be dead to sin, and alive to all that is good.
CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Numbers 24:2-11
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! 6 Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. 7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.” 10 And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.”
THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:24–25, ESV)
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
†PSALM OF PREPARATION #42B
“As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams”
SERMON Hebrews 9:11-28 // Where There is a Will, There is a Way
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
We pray, that we, as those who Paul charged, may be filled with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please you in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all the power, according to His glorious might, for the affirming of all steadfastness and patience. Amen.
Text Hebrews 9:15-28
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
AFTER SCRIPTURE
The Lord bless to us the reading of His holy word, and to His name be glory and praise.
Intro
Intro
As most of you know, my Dad passed earlier this year. And in Dad’s passing there are certain things that have come to me — things that Dad had a will that I would inherit. One thing that I always loved and that Dad always wanted me to have was a black Onyx ring that he wore on his right hand. It was a gift to him from my mom when they got engaged. He wore it for over fifty years. I have that ring now (although it doesn’t fit).
And my wedding ring also came to me from my grandfather when He passed. He wore this ring in marriage to my grandmother for over fifty years.
Both of these items are a rich inheritance to me, given when these men that I loved passed.
Just as these rings carry the weight of legacy for me, the writer of Hebrews would have us consider a far greater inheritance— a “promised eternal inheritance” (v.15), secured to us through Christ’s covenant.
This inheritance isn’t just property—it’s the promise of forgiveness, eternal life, and God’s presence forever
Hebrews shows us that Jesus’ covenant offers a better promise—a permanent inheritance that transforms how we live and face eternity.
And to try to communicate this concept of inheritance, our author begins to speak about the new covenant by way of an analogy, that of a last will and testament.
Outline:
A Will
A Way
Cleansing Heaven
Death and Judgement - the fulfilling of the will
A Will
A Will
Look at v.16:
“For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.” (Hebrews 9:16–17, ESV)
So, a will and an inheritance doesn’t take effect until a death.
So what death took place and what was that inheritance was in the old covenant?
“Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:18–22, ESV)
There was a will associated with the first covenant. The will was this: purification and cleansing and the forgiveness of sins.
This was the inheritance that came through the sacrifices offered in the tabernacle.
God desired to be with His people. There was this tabernacle in the wilderness where God would be with His people. But when the priest comes in, what is he bringing in there? He is wearing the names of the people upon his garments. And that’s the reason that the furniture of the tabernacle need to be cleansed. It’s not that the place is dirty. It’s that way because we are represented there.
And for this will to take effect, there must be a death.
If you remember, the covenant is like what is sometimes called a self-maledictory oath. It’s the idea that says: if I break the oath, may the judgement be on me.
But what we see in scripture is that God is always stepping in to provide a way when we break that covenant. God is always making a way to give us our inheritance.
With Adam and Eve He provided them clothes with the life of an animal.
With Abraham when the covenant was established he walked through the sacrifice alone
He provided a ram in the thicket
Jesus on the cross
To receive our inheritance, there must be a death. That’s what sin requires. That’s what stands in our way.
You may think its mad and way too extreme. Good. Look at how costly it is and marvel. Have that prick your sense of indifference to sin.
We don’t see it with holy eyes. We have no right sense of justice or goodness and no grasp on the hideousness of our sin. We see things like this and our reaction is that God must be cruel. But damn our eyes. God is holy. God lets no sin go, not because He is cruel but because He is great. He is the definition of good. No one and nothing gets a pass or a freebie. Sin destroys. It curses every relationship that you have. It condemns us to hell. We not only do it but we like it. And the weight of that of that almost never hits us. The blood is heavy to think about. When our eyes are turned towards these hard images we can try to stand in judgement over God and scoff that he is brutal and extreme. But until we see the significance of it we won’t see the heaviness and the glory and the perfection of love of Jesus on the cross. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. God so loved ths world that He gave His only Son.
So, in this old covenant, there was death and then inheritance.
But both were limited. In the old covenant, the inheritance of purity was brief (until you were unclean again by sin), and the death was a weak substitute. It wasn’t the death of the one that made the covenant; it was a stand in, an alternative, a substitute.
But this text is having us to look beyond these things. V.15 says that as Christ is the mediator of a better covenant, so that we may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
[pause and read slowly]
What is that more full inheritance and what is the way that this comes about?
There is a will - a greater will. What is The Way?
A Way
A Way
There is a way to inherit the great and eternal promise of God, and it is through the blood of Christ Himself.
Look with me at vv.23-
“Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” (Hebrews 9:23–24, ESV)
The cleansing of Heaven
This is a remarkable claim, that Heaven needed to be cleansed.
That, just as the tabernacle needed to be purified, heaven received a better sacrifice. Christ entered into the true presence of God on our behalf.
Why does Heaven need to be cleansed?
Because we are there. Because Jesus is there on our behalf and He brings us there with Him — our names graven on His hands.
What does this mean?
We often forget that we are living before the God of Heaven.
We are not just materialists whose only reality is what is before us. We stand before the God of Heaven.
We see in scripture many examples of heaven breaking through. And we should remember them. We do well to remember that there is more going on than we see.
Balaam’s donkey that we just read. He wouldn’t move because he saw the angel of the lord with his sword drawn, blocking his way.
Think of Stephen, gazing into heaven as it opened, seeing Jesus standing at God’s right hand—a reminder that our lives unfold before the throne
David, not marching on the Philistines until he hears the army that marches on top of the poplar trees - 2 Sam 5
It means that our lives are in view of heaven. What goes on in your home is in view of Heaven. Above your bedroom is Heaven.
We live our entire lives before the presence of God. He sees it all. He knows it all. And it is there where we are cleansed. It’s right there where we need it the most.
We pray, our Father in Heaven, may your kingdom come and will be done here as it is there in heaven. Because that is where our hope is.
Trying to tell heaven what you are
Trying to tell heaven what you are
Heaven, before the throne, is where the truth of our situation really lies.
In cases of church discipline, Matthew 18, “what you bind on earth is bound in heaven”. It’s not that what the church leaders decide change Heaven, it’s that they are testifying to the brother in sin what is their reality in heaven. They stand at peace or in judgement before Heaven.
But often, we try to tell heaven what we really are, but it’s not that way.
Some might try to buck heaven and say they have no sin. They don’t need Heaven’s pardon.
Some try to fight heaven and say that it has no bearing on their lives. They can be who they want to be. They can do what they want to do. They can choose their identity and sexuality and do as they please.
This is the idolatry of man. God, may it be in Heaven as it is here on earth. Do things our way and see things our way is the wickedness that is preached in some liberal churches.
But like gravity which works on you whether you believe it or not, you don’t get to choose. What you are before the throne is what is ultimate.
Some of us forget what we are before the throne, too. We try to tell heaven that we are guilty and condemnable. But if you are in Christ, you need to look at what is true about you, and you must look there.
That’s right where you are made holy. That’s where you are made and declared clean. That’s where the blood has paid for your sin.
Christ took us with Him - we are there in that place. V.24 says that He entered there for us.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:4–6, ESV)
Receiving the Inheritance
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27–28, ESV)
It is appointed for man to die one and then judgement.
But our inheritance is that this has already happened for us in Christ.
Sometimes we hear the phrase “Jesus died so that you may live”. And that’s true, in a way. But it’s more accurate to say that Jesus died so that you may die in Him.
We all face death and judgment, but in Christ, your judgment is already settled. His death took your penalty, securing your inheritance forever.
Christ has been offered to bear the sins of many.
And to reject you would be for God to reject Jesus, and that just isn’t going to happen.
When Christ returns, it’s not to do any more business with sin - that’s all over. He has come to bring us our eternal inheritance.
Our eternal inheritance — the receiving of the will. We wait for it expectantly.
What does it look like to wait expectantly?
If You can stand before Heaven, you can stand anywhere
If you can stand before the throne in confidence then you can stand before the difficulties and frustrations at your job,
you can bear the trial of loneliness
you can stand before the tasks in front of you — your marriage, that ministry, raising these kids, not having a perfect week, getting off schedule with home schooling, not being first place in track, being single, not being as good looking or getting into that school
you can stand before your sins, your disappointments, your accusations with confidence.
But what if I stumble or do it imperfectly? Then you are doing it within reach of the throne of Grace. Right next to the mercy seat.
Keep going.
Conclusion
Conclusion
There is a great will and inheritance for you and the way to it has already been provided. In Christ, you are cleansed before the throne once and for all time.
Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, may your kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven.
†HYMN OF RESPONSE #352
“Man of Sorrows! What a Name”
†THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Minister: Lift up your hearts!
Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.
Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!
Congregation is seated. Tell them to turn to The Apostles’ Creed (Pg. 851 in Trinity Hymnal.
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
This meal provides a witness to the power of God’s love for sinners in the death and resurrection of his son. It provides the promise of grace to all who believe. It provides a means whereby his children, in public reception of these elements, and in response to the great gifts of God conveyed by them, can show forth their faith in God by offering themselves to Him in love and praise.
This table welcomes all who confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who have the hope of salvation brought forth by his life, death, and resurrection. It is for all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church.
This meal cannot make you righteous; no human action can. But this meal can covey the grace of God to you and unite you, by faith, in the one who is righteous. By the power of the Spirit, who meets with God’s people here; we, though still sinners, can endeavor by that same Spirit to live holy lives before God. Come, you who desire to be followers of God – taste and see that the Lord is good.
Let’s confess our faith together. Christians, what do you believe?
CONFESSION OF FAITH
The Apostles Creed p. 851
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
The body of the Lord, broken for you, take and eat.
The blood of the Lord, shed for the forgiveness of sins. Take and drink.
PRAYER
†OUR RESPONSE #234
Tune: The God of Abraham Praise
The whole triumphant host gives thanks to God on high;
“Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” they ever cry.
Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays;
all might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.
†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thess. 2:16-17
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Grace Notes Reflection
The old covenant, with its sacrifices and blood, pointed to the seriousness of sin and the need for cleansing. But those sacrifices were temporary and symbolic. Jesus, however, entered not an earthly tabernacle, but heaven itself—on our behalf—and offered His own blood to cleanse not just objects, but our very souls.
This means your standing before God does not depend on your performance, your perfection, or your feelings, but on the finished work of Christ. If you are in Him, your judgment has already happened. You died in Him, and now you live by His resurrection power. Your name is graven on His hands, and your place is secure in heaven.
So the challenge is this: Are you living like someone who has received that inheritance? Do you face your daily burdens, temptations, and trials with the confidence that comes from being seated with Christ in the heavenly places? Or are you still trying to tell heaven who you are—either by puffing yourself up or beating yourself down?
Stop striving. Look to Christ. Trust that He has secured your place. And live today like someone who already belongs to heaven.
“If you can stand before the throne, you can stand anywhere.”
